Abstract

In this study, the researcher has tried to find out the reason that can help them to engage more people to visit the Museums, such as Mansfield Museum. To get the deep insight research was conducted that involved questionnaire related to the Museum along with its comparison to another museum in the East Midlands Cluster group which included a lot of another museum along with Mansfield Museum. The researcher would suggest the findings and would also discuss recommendations to make the situation. In the recent times, one can see that with the use of the internet; people are becoming less and less interested in visiting museums and such other places. They are not so interested in learning history. This is the reason that museums like Mansfield and the cluster of the East Midlands are competing very hard to capture the interest of people from all the society of life. It contains the entire relevant question that will help the researcher get a better understanding of the ways that can be applied to improve the number of people visiting Mansfield or any other museum. Along with this, the people at the museum are promoting themselves on another medium as well to attract people and encourage them to have a good time with their family.

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Background

The Mansfield Museum is a museum that is situated in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire in England. It is a local authority museum. The museum came into existence in 1904 and is considered to be the brainchild of William Edward Bailey. The museum is known to host a lot of community projects and are meant for everyone in the society. The museum was also recognized in the year 2011 as The Guardian Family Friendly Museum of the Year. The main aim of the museum is to encourage people to visit and provides a lot of educational activities to the visitors.

1.2 Overview

Museums are places that are selected and chosen by the government or the local body to educate and teach people. The main aim behind this is to make people aware of the things that have happened in the past and which lay special importance in some or the other way. The same is the reason for the birth of the Mansfield Museum. It was gifted by William Bailey after he donated his collection and the building to educate people. To hold and capture the interest a lot of things were done by the museum. This was done to attract people to visit the museums. The museum is a renowned place and is considered one of the friendliest museums in the country. The organisers of the museum have created a website that provides all the necessary details and information about the museum that can help people to plan their visit accordingly (Aydelotte.et.al.2015). To get a better insight into the choice and preference of the people visiting the museum, a questionnaire is prepared. To do this, a survey was conducted in which people who visit the Mansfield Museum were asked some questions. This was done to know the specific reasons and choices that people made to visit the location. Things like motivation, spending time with family, entertaining the children were some of the main reason which made people visit the museum, a lot more needs to be done that draws people to these museums.

1.3 Aims & Objectives

Aim: The main aim of this research study is to find out the ways through which more and more people can be engaged to come and visit the museums such as the Mansfield Museum and others like it.

Objectives:

• To understand the reasons people are visiting the Mansfield Museum
• To understand the reasons people do not want to visit the Museums.
• Generating ideas to attract more and more people to visit museums.
• To recommend ideas that can help the authorities to improve the number of people visiting the museum.

1.4 Structure of the dissertation

To carry out the dissertation, the work is divided into five major parts. It starts with getting an overview of the topic, along with what are the aims and objectives of the study. This is followed by the literature review which takes the research and its various aspect of it to provide a better understanding. The third part consists of the methodology which was adopted to gain the data and achieve the objectives. The fourth part consists of the analysis portion that was carried out from the data that was collected through the methodology part. And in the last chapter, the findings are concluded, and suitable recommendations for the same are suggested by the researcher.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

A literature review is the most critical part of any research study. This is because it gives a deeper understanding of the research topic. It is a combination of the summary of the synthesis which helps us to reach the objective of the study. According to (Ballard, 2017) A literature review is something that has enough depth and breadth related to all the aspect of the research topic. Here in this literature review a lot of questions were asked of the people visiting the museum. Their response was analyzed and assessed in a manner to know the various factors that attract people to visit museums like that of Mansfield. This along with the demographic and other details a proper research data was conducted. The best practice was identified which could help us to reach the outcome we desired.

2.2 Museum and the issues

Museums all over the world are facing one major issue. That is people are losing interest when it comes to visiting them. With the increasing use of internet and people no more interested in history, there are not many options left. Along with this, the pictures and information available with the museums are not in the good condition in many cases. The objects or the writing are hampered which makes people lose their interest in the museum all the more. As per (Bernard, 2017) A lot of information or the things associated with it are not complete. Incomplete information makes the visitor feel bad as they have visited the museum to gain some insight and knowledge which they are unable to now. There is a lack of activities that one can undertake near a museum area. This makes families opt for some other recreational option rather than going for a museum visit. All these factors play a huge role which makes a person restrict from visiting a museum.

The structure of the building is something that gives people a very old feel. The buildings are colourless and have not been taken care of from manyages. People don’t feel like looking at them forgets about visiting them. Also, not many facilities are provided in those buildings. Basic amenities such as clean washrooms and clean drinking water are also missing at times. This adds to all the negative points that make people avoid these places altogether.

2.3 Need to engage more visitors to visit the museum

A very serious need has arisen to engage more and more people to visit the museums such as the Mansfield Museum and the other group. As per (Bitgood, 2016) this is because museums are a connection with the history. Museum contains information and tools that have played a very important part in forming some or other part of the history. They contain an article that has contributed to making history. So it becomes very necessary to form a base with the museum and the people so that they can feel connected to their origins. Another reason to engage more and more people to visit the museum is so that people are connectedtothe art and culture. History has a unique way of connecting with people. One can be attracted to any form of history be it art, music or the culture. But to know that connect one needs to have that experience. That experience is possible to visit the museums such as the Mansfield Museum. These museums are the foundations of the nations. They keep one informed about since they have come which is a great source of encouragement. This is why people should be encouraged to engage more and more to visit the museum.

2.4 Ways to attract more visitors to the museum

A lot has been done by the local and national authorities at every level to attract more and more people to visit the museum every year. But still, that does not seem enough. Despite all the efforts, not much change can be seen. A lot needs to change with time if the community wants more people to participate in the museums. There are some great ways that the museum caretaker or authorities can incorporate and increase the interest of people. Some of the most effective ways can be:

2.4.1 Conducting exhibitions

Exhibitions are a great way through which museums can attract visitors from across the globe. The reason is that it increases the outreach and discussions among people who are interested in this field. For example, the Mansfield Museum holds many exhibitions and art galleries from time to time to illustrate the social and industrial history of various subjects that hols the interest of people. According (Bodrov and Loginov, 2015) the museum can also hold rotating exhibition and event with other museums such as the Buxton Museum or the Derby Museum or the Nottingham Castle which all forms part of the East Midlands cluster. This is a great way to interact, and exchange information and people can gain alot of information from one place itself. This will allow the visitor is visiting one museum, say, the Mansfield Museum enjoy the insights and experience the beautiful things of other museums which is a great way to hold their interest throughout the visit. The information of the same can be published on the website along with the social channels of the museum. This will help people to plan their visit accordingly and also help them know what to expect when they visit a particular museum.

2.4.2 Better information on the website

A lot of museums have their website. But the issue is that they do not keep them updated. A lot of websites still showcases the same information that was uploaded to them when it was made. Today’s world is that of the internet. As per (Brannen, 2017) people like to have all the information at hand before visiting a place, especially something like a museum. With the old information, a lot of visitors feel de-motivated or gets the wrong information after visiting the location. This makes them disappointed, and they may even suggest others not to visit the site. All this makes for the negative review which the museum cannot afford. To rectify the situation, the museum caretakers should make it a point to make sure that all the information on the website is up to date. Along with that any upcoming exhibition or artist or special event is highlighted so that more and more can visit the museum during that time.

One very well example of it is the Mansfield Museum website. The main homepage of the website displays the main attraction of Mansfield that includes the past and the present objects of the area and all the other tourist attraction of the region. According to (Bryman and Bell, 2015) the website of the museum contains all the necessary details about the museum the about the museum section. This includes the past, present and even the future segment which educates one about all the future happening at the museum. Along with that all the important events and calendar details are mentioned which can be helpful for the visitors visiting the museum or planning for the same. The website also mentions the most important detail, that is the time and days on which one can visit the museum. Many times it happens that people visit a museum and its close for some or the other reason. This segment helps them to plan their trip accordingly. All this is a great way to engage more and more visitors to the museum.

2.4.3 Better display of the items and information

The way things are kept and showcased in a museum place a very important role on how people perceive it when they visit it. As per (Bryman, 2015)  in many cases, it has been found that the articles of the transcript present in the museum are in a very bad condition which disinterests the visitors and even makes them feel disappointed about visiting the museum. The main aim of Museum is to attract people and educate them about things, but if the articles present are not in good condition, then the chances of people being interested are very less. Therefore it is a very important aspect to engage more and more visitors to visit a museum is to make sure that the articles or the main themes of the museums are in best of the condition. A check should be done on the same so that no issues can occur regarding the same.

2.4.4 The Building structure

A very prominent factor that has been found in these types of museums and other building is that their structure is something which is not liked by many. The peeling paint or the odour surrounded by them is something that is not very flattering. According to (Cope, 2014) people are already not very interested in museums. This along with the building and its structure makes them stay away all the more from such places. To rectify the situation, the museum buildings should be made in such a way that they hold the interest of the visitor. Either their formation or their construction should be such that people get attracted to visit the building at least. This can be a great start to encourage people to visit the museum as well. The main aim of the museum is to allow people to step out of the current situation and experience the things that have happened in the past on which the museum is based. The main aim of the visitor visiting the museum is to give them a deeper connection with the museum that may encourage them to visit it again. This can happen only if they feel connected with its structure also.

2.5 Things that can engage more visitors at Mansfield Museum

There are manyvisitors thatseem to enjoy the museum. This includes the Mansfield Museum as compared to the other museums in the East Midlands Cluster group. This is because various museums offer a lot more facilities and options to its visitor which encourages them to enjoy the museum. These activities if followed by other museums can be beneficial for them also.

2.5.1 More activities around the museum

The museum such as Mansfield Museum needs to incorporate a lot more activities in nearby areas where people can come to enjoy. This is because it will allow people to enjoy more time with their family which is a good reason for them to visit the Mansfield Museum. As per (Creswell and Creswell, 2017) It can often be seen that just one activity and that too of visiting a museum can be boring for a family trip and may even discourage a lot of youngsters to take part in. Keeping that in mind, a lot of fun activities like shopping, restaurant, movies, etc. can be incorporated in the nearby area so that if people visit a museum, they can take the benefit of all these activities or vice versa. In fact, it can often be seen that a very few percentage of people visit just the museum without any other motive. This is a great indicator that people need to have more than one activity that they enjoy so that they can be attracted to visit the museum along with their friends and family. Government and the community can also contribute a lot in this area. This is because a combined effort of all will make everyone more active in this field.

2.5.2 More learning’s for school and college students

A prime reason museums are losing their touch because they are not getting the recognition they deserve. They are left out with proper care, and no visits are made to them. A very good way through which people can be engaged more and more towards museums like the Mansfield Museum and the other museums of the East Midlands Cluster group is by collaborating with the schools and colleges. Davidson, 2015 stated that this is necessary as if as a student people are encouraged or promoted to visit and enjoy museums than it will have more impact on the students. Either the school or institute can take them to the museum or the students can be encouraged to visit it with their family. This is really great as many people along with their friends and family will be asked to visit the museum. This will give the museum various eyeballs and encourage other people also to pay the museums a visit. A day can be set for the schools so that proper preparation is made for them and a better knowledge can be transferred.

2.5.3. More promotion on social medium

With the world taking a more digital angle, the museum in order to grow and survive needs to follow the same pattern. According to (Drew.et.al.2017) Museums like the Mansfield Museum need to start promoting themselves and their activity on social platform and mediums so that people from across the globe can get knowledge about them. This is a very convenient form of promotion and gets a lot more eye balls. This is also necessary as everyone is on social media. The museum can promote any upcoming event or day on social media and ask people what they want to see. This will not only help them interact with the audience but will also get prepared about the audience that would be visiting them on that particular day. One can also ask the audience on ideas and ways through which the museums can be made more entertaining for them which is basically the aim of all the museums.

2.5.4 Expansion of the museum

A major drawback that can be experienced at various museums in the Mansfield and the nearby area is that they have not upgraded themselves with time. According to (Falk and Dierking, 2016) the display of articles is the same and no addition or improvement has been done in them. This restricts a lot of people who have visited the museum to not visit it again as it does not offers them something new. Keeping this point in mind, Mansfield museum has worked a lot in this direction. The museum is constantly adding one or the other feature that is different from earlier. One great example is the art gallery which is on its way to refurbishment. They are making it to adapt to the modern style and taste. This will include the industrial past of Mansfield which is of great interest to the visitors visiting the museum time and again.

Another input is the continuous adding of the topic at the museum which is linked to the studies of people and students such as the national curriculum linked session. This provides great learning to the students who are in the age and class. Also, people who have read and learned about the same can relate better to the topics generating their interest in the same. This way both genres of people are interested in the updating of the information making it a win-win situation for all.

2.6 Profiling visitors’ demographics

After undergoing the research and the data provided in it, it can be easily seen that the demographics and the profiles of the people visiting the museum is the most crucial part of the research. As per (Falk, 2016) this is because by this only, can one make the necessary changes that are required to engage more and more visitors to visit the museum. Every age group has a different motive for visiting the museum, and it should be promoted more and more. Also, the reason for their visit along with the activity that they enjoyed around the area can give us more details about how the mind or thinking of a visitor works. This will make the people at the museum form ideas and plans that can be helpful in encouraging more people to visit it.

Also, it has been identified that more people are interested in visiting Mansfield Museum rather than the East Midlands Cluster Group. This showcases that people are happy with the Mansfield Museum and its working and the East Midlands Group should learn and understand to incorporate some of the things in their activity to motivate more people to visit them as well. According to (Medulin.et.al.2016) The research is mainly carried out by Mansfield Museum in comparison to the East Midlands Cluster Group. A series of questions in the form of the questionnaire has been asked to the people visiting the museum. The results have helped in better understanding of the key reasons through which people can be pushed forward to be an active part of the various museums. A lot of issues such as lack of activity and the infrastructure associated with them can be negative for the museum. A proper mix of activities should be carried on so that people visiting the museum have a great experience which encourages them to visit it again and promote the same to others.

2.7 Research gap

After getting a good and deeper insight into the literature review, it can be seen that the research has been carried out especially for the Mansfield Museum. As per (Flick, 2015) the main aim of the research is to engage more and more visitors to visit the museum. It can be seen that a lot of factors play an important role in this. The main reason for conducting this research is to know how one can encourage people to participate in these museums. This is the reason primary research was conducted keeping the Mansfield Museum as the base. Hence, one can say that the study was initiated by the researcher to get a better understanding of the ways through which people are inspired and motivated to visit a museum.

3. Methodology

3.1 Introduction

A research methodology is a systematic way through which one can get a better and deeper understanding of the subject matter. It helps us get a clear viewpoint about all the aspect related to the research topic and all the areas associated with it. It is one of the most crucial parts of any research as it helps the researcher to know how to move forward with respect to his research (Fortunato, 2015). The major part that it consists of involves research approach, data collection, data analysis, and the limitations that one had to face while undergoing the research study.

3.2 Research approach

The research methodology helps one to understand the thinking and the mindset of the research for undergoing that particular study. The research approach is a very important part of any research irrespective of the topic associated with it. The kind of research approach used in this research is the inductive approach. The reason behind using this approach is because inductive approach deals with the research questions first and focuses on the aims and objectives that one wants to achieve in the research study. There is no hypothesis situation in this condition. In our research as well, we have some research question that would help us to know the ways through which we can engage more and more visitors to visit the museum (Hagan, 2014). Thus, depending on our need and the data available to us, the inductive approach is the most suitable for our research process.

3.3 Research type

It is the whole and sole of the research process. It is associated with the motive of the study and the output when wants to acquire from it. This is basically of two types- qualitative research data and quantitative research data. Qualitative research data is something that gives detailed information about the research topic. The quantitative research data is something that is mostly numerical in existence. This is used where numbers or data is used to gain information that can help us to solve the problem. To carry out our research, the main form of research type used is the quantitative data type. This is because a comparison needs to be made among the information of the Mansfield Museum versus that of the East Midlands Cluster group to understand what factors encourage visitors to visit the museums (Harrison.et.al.2016). Also, the quantitative data will give a better understanding of the profiles and demographics of the people visiting the museum which can be helpful to prepare further plans and draw a meaningful conclusion for the same.

3.4 Research design

The research design is that aspect of the research process that acts as a blueprint of the research process. It lays down the plan that one mustneeds to follow to answer the research question. According to the need of our research, the research design most suitable for us is the descriptive research design. This is because it deals with some specific aspect of the research area. The specific area in our research is the ways through which people can be engaged to visit museums like the Mansfield Museum (Hassan, 2016). Also, it can be used to draw a meaningful conclusion from the research which is very important.

3.5 Data collection

As the name suggests, data collection is the method through which all the relevant and meaningful information about the research topic is collected. The motive for this is to gain insight that can help us to reach the desired conclusion. This is basically of two types- primary data collection and secondary data collection. Secondary data is that type of data that has already been collected by someone else and is available in some journals or online articles. This may or may not be according to our research need. The primary data on the other hand is the data that is collected solely for the purpose of our research study. It is collected for the first time and is not available anywhere else (Hein, 2014). It can be of two types- quantitative data and qualitative data. The meaning of both is same as that in research type.

3.5.1 Primary data collection

According to the need of our research process, the type of data collection suitable for us is the quantitative data. This basically includes numbers and mathematical formulas. This is a more convenient method of data collection and can be used over a large population. This can be conducted in short span of time and is very good to compare results. All these factors make it very appropriate for our research. In order to collect the primary data, a survey was conducted. As already mentioned by the researcher, only quantitative method of data collection would be used. The survey conducted was a face to face one and consisted of a series of questions. It was conducted with the help of a questionnaire. A well defined structured and easy to understand questionnaire was prepared for the people who visited the museum during the staid period. The questionnaire highlighted the reasons that made people visit the museum and the factors affecting them (Hoy and Adams, 2015). The questions were prepared in such a way that they were easy to understand and self explanatory so that much help was not needed. The questionnaire prepared mostly had a multiple choice question. This was done so that the respondent could answer fast and a relevant conclusion could be drawn.

3.6 Sampling method

The sampling method is very important when it comes to the research process. This is because it is with this method that one chooses a sample that represents the rest of the population in the best way possible. This is generally of two types- probability sampling and non-probability sampling. In probability sampling the researcher has the details about the population and makes a selection out of it. In the non-probability sampling method the researcher does not have much idea about the population. He selects the population on the basis of his convenience and judgment. This method is very popular as it is easy to use and takes a lot less time. The sampling method used in our research process is the convenience sampling. This is because the number of respondents is 376 which are very large and the research does not have an idea about the population. This method had a face to face interview with the people. A sample was selected out of the many responses received (Komarac, 2014). It was chosen on the basis of most common answer or most likely reason which a large number of the population opted for. The size selected was such which gave a true representation of the entire population. Also, the large population helped in understanding the various points of view.

3.7 Data analysis

The data collected needs to be analyzed so that some meaningful conclusion can be drawn out of it. As per the research and the data collected, the method suitable for data analysis is critical analysis along with data interpretation of the figures obtained from the research. It is also necessary to find out the reasons behind the number so that the ways can be found out. In order to analyze the primary data this is collected through the questionnaire method, various software such as the SPSS software along with excel sheet can be used. This is because the software is easy to use and can be really helpful for analyzing of our research data. Another reason for choosing this software is that we have loads of data and number which can easily be filled and entered into this software making it right for the research. Use of frequency distribution along with pie charts, bar graphs and other such tools and techniques can be done with this software (Larson‐Hall and Plonsky, 2015). This approach makes data analysis with the use of statistics very easy and the result can be drawn in forms of charts and graphs making it easy to understand.

3.8 Reliability and validity

The main factor that affects any research is the reliability of the data collected. This is the most important point of any research process. It is all the more important when it comes to primary data. It was made sure that the data collected is reliable with the objective of the research (Leahy, 2016). Reliability and validity were paid huge importance as they play a very important role in the outcome of the research.

3.9 Ethical consideration

The ethical considerations are such without which no research can be a success. There are few points that one need to keep in mind while undergoing any research. With respect to our research process, the researcher made it a point that the subject matter and the data collected are reliable and validate with the motive of the research. It was seen that the data collected is genuine and no hamper whatsoever is done to it. A 100% plagiarism is maintained in the data received in the current report. In order to make sure that authenticity and trueness of the data is maintained, therefore data is presented in the actual format (Lord and Piacente, 2014). Consent of all the respondents were taking before conducting the research or acquiring of any information from them.

3.10 Limitation of the study

With respect to our research, the major limitation was the data collection of the entire museum along with the Mansfield Museum. Due to lack of proper resources and experience, a lot of issue when it comes to relevancy of the data may arise. Lack of research knowledge is also another limitation that the research faced while conducting this study (Lu, 2017). Also lack of previous knowledge and information in this field was also a major limitation that the researcher had to face for the research process.

4 Data analysis

4.1 Introduction

Data analysis is a very crucial component when it comes to the research process. This is because it helps in analyzing the data collected so that some meaningful conclusion can be drawn out of it. In this particular research process, the data is collected through the primary data collection method. The data collected is quantitative in nature. For analyzing the data, pie charts, bar graphs, line graphs, etc have been used. The data collected through the survey and questionnaire is converted into some code in the excel sheet (Mackey and Gass, 2015). Various software and tools like the SPSS software have been used to get better result and findings from the study.

4.2 Quantitative Analysis

Quantitative analysis is done by the researcher to get a better overview of a lot of aspects. With the proper use of reasoning and logical thinking, meaningful conclusion can be drawn which can be really fruitful for the research process. Data collected with this method when analyzed with the right technique can result in adequate meaning for the museums. In order to collect the data, a survey was done. A total of 376 questionnaires were completed which were all face to face. The data collected is for over a period of one year, i.e., from April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2106. The questionnaire was majorly filled through interviews with the help of the venue staff at the museums (Maisel, 2016). For analyzing the data, SPSS software was used which helped in the preparation of the pie charts and the bar graph that gave a pictorial representation of the data collected.

Demographic Questions

Q.1 Have you visited the museum before?

A.1

Mansfield Museum

First-time visitors	20%
Last visited more than one year ago	17%
Visited on another occasion in the last 12 months	63%

Cluster Average

First-time visitors	50%
Last visited more than one year ago	17%
Visited on another occasion in the last 12 months	33%

After analysing the data collected from 376 questionnaires which included a base of 359 from the Mansfield Museum and that of 2667 from the cluster average. The results majorly showcase that the people who have filled the questionnaire have visited the Mansfield Museum for more than one occasion in the past one year. It forms the majority with a 63% which is very good for the Mansfield museum’s point of view. It is followed by 20% which consists of people who are the first time visitor to the museum. This data when compared with the data of the cluster average shows that the people who have filled the questionnaire from there are mostly first time visitor to the museum (Martin.et.al.2016). It includes 50% of the population filling the questionnaire. It shows that people who visit the Mansfield Museum like to visit it again for some or the other reason.

Q.1 (a) how many times have you been to the museum in the last 12 months?

A.1 (a)

	Median
East Midlands Cluster highest	7
Mansfield Museum	5
East Midlands Cluster average	4
East Midlands Cluster lowest	3

Regarding the data collected for both Mansfield Museum and the cluster group regarding the people who have visited the museum more than once, the median for the Mansfield museum is five times. That on the other hand for the east Midlands cluster group is 4. This includes all those people who have visited the museum on more than one occasion. The data comprises of 226 respondents for the Mansfield museum and 834 respondents for the East Midlands cluster group. The results depict that people on average visits the Mansfield museum more which shows their preference and interest. The highest median is of East Midlands which means that one museum is liked much more than all the other museums in the lot.

Q.2 Are you a male or female?

Are You	Mansfield Museum	East Midlands Custer Average	East Midlands (2011 Census)
Male	28%	42%	49%
Female	72%	58%	51%

Demographics of Sex

When the data of the people visiting the Mansfield Museum was compared with the data of the East Midlands Cluster group, it was found that in both the cases the percentage of female visiting the museum is more than that of the male population. Though the total population of the East Midlands consists of 51% female and 49% male, the difference in the percentage of people visiting the museum is far more than that. The base for the Mansfield Museum was 359 whereas that for the East Midlands Cluster average was 2739. The female percentage visiting the Mansfield Museum is 72% which is almost three times of the male population visiting the same. That in case of the East Midlands is 58% and 42% respectively. This shows that females are more interested in visiting the museums in the area as compared to their male counterpart.

Q.3 which of the following age group does you belong to?

Age Group	Mansfield Museum	East Midlands Custer Average	East Midlands (2011 Census)
16-24	3%	11%	12%
25-34	19%	17%	12%
35-44	24%	16%	14%
45-54	9%	15%	14%
55-64	17%	19%	12%
65 or more	28%	22%	17%

Which age group do you belong to?

From the data collected regarding the age groups of the people visiting the museums, it can be easily seen that people who fall in the age category of 65 or more visits the museums the most. They do form the large part of the population, but their interest is way more than any other age group. In case of the Mansfield Museum, the percentage is 28, highest among all the number, whereas that of the East Midlands Cluster average is 22%. It shows that people of the old age are more interested in this stuff as compared to the young generation. This can be easily seen as the people belonging to the age group of 15-24 and who was part of the survey, only 3% of them visited the Mansfield Museum during the time of the survey. This percentage is of 11 regarding the East Midlands Cluster average. This indicates that young people who need to be more engaged when it comes to visiting the museums.

Q.4 What is your ethnic group?

Ethnic Group	Mansfield Museum	East Midlands Custer Average	East Midlands (2011 Census)
White	99%	92%	89%
Mixed/Multiple	0%	2%	2%
Black or Black British	0%	1%	2%
Asian or Asian British	1%	4%	6%
Other	0%	2%	1%

Ethnicity

After analysing the data when it comes to the ethnicity of the people who participated in the research analysis, it can be easily seen that most of them belong to the white community. One way to look at this is that majority of them are part of the area whose history has been kept in those museums. Though the percentage of people visiting the Mansfield Museum is close to 100%, who belongs to this community which means other communities are not so much interested in visiting this museum. This is something that should be paid attention to. Efforts should be made to attract different ethnic groups to come and visit the museums.

Q.5 Are your day-to-day activities limited because of a health problem or disability which has lasted, or is expected to last at least 12 months?

	Mansfield Museum	East Midlands Custer Average	East Midlands (2011 Census)
Yes, limited a lot	3%	2%	9%
Yes, limited a little	9%	9%	10%
No	88%	89%	81%

Are your day-to-day activities limited?

When the data were analysed regarding whether some physical issue or illness have prevented people from visiting the museum, it can be easily seen that majority of them replied with a no. This shows that it was the disinterest of the people that made them stay from the museums. A great percentage of 88 and 89 of Mansfield Museum and the East Midlands Cluster average comprises of the population who are not physically ill. This means that due to some or the other reasons that were not related to physical problem, people did not feel like visiting the museums

Q.6 Do you live in the UK?

	Mansfield Museum	East Midlands Custer Average
East Midlands	97%	73%
West Midlands	0%	6%
East	0%	5%
North West	1%	4%
Yorkshire and the Humber	0%	4%
South East	0%	4%
London	0%	3%
South West	0%	2%
Wales	0%	1%
North East	0%	1%
Scotland	0%	1%
Northern Ireland	0%	1%

UK Region

The data collected and analysed depicts that the major population that participated in the questionnaire belonged to the East Midlands area only. The people visiting the Mansfield Museum were almost all belonging to this region. Though for the East Midlands Cluster average a sum of other areas can also be counted. This shows that people from very far do not interest much in visiting the Mansfield Museum. A variety of reason can be behind it which are stopping people from visiting the museum.

Q.7 if you live in the UK, what is your postcode?

	Mansfield Museum	East Midlands Custer Average
Derby	0%	22%
Kettering	0%	21%
High Peak	0%%	21%
Rutland	0%	17%
Mansfield	60%	15%
Nottingham	1%	13%
Melton	0%	9%
Ashfield	17%	8%
Broxtowe	0%	7%
East Northampton shire	0%	6%
Amber Valley	2%	6%
Gedling	3%	5%
Rushcliffe	0%	5%
Erewash	1%	5%
Newark and Sherwood	10%	4%

Postcode

From the data collected and analysed regarding the postcode of the people who have answered the questionnaire, it can be seen that majorly they are part of the Mansfield postcode when it comes to the Mansfield museum with a huge percentage of 60. The same when it comes to the East Midlands Cluster average belongs to the Derby postcode with a percentage of 22. These are very helpful when one wants to know the geographical area of the population who has taken part in the survey of the research.

Q.8 Which of these have you done or intend to do on this visit to the Mansfield Museum?

	Mansfield Museum	East Midlands Custer Average
Visit a restaurant/café	38%	47%
Shopping	50%	38%
Visit a historic site	5%	31%
Visit a pub/bar	6%	18%
Other arts/cultural activity	11%	14%
Work/study	5%	8%
Attend a sporting event	3%	2%
Other	10%	8%
None of the above, I’m only visiting the organization/event	18%	13%

Which of these have you done on the visit to the Mansfield Museum?

From the data collected, it can be depicted that the other thing that people enjoy while visiting the Mansfield Museum is shopping. 50% of the population who participated in the survey have answered that the thing that they have done or want to do when it comes to their visit to the Mansfield Museum includes shopping on the list. This whereas when seen in the matter of the East Midlands Cluster average is more inclined to visit a restaurant or a café with a percentage of 47. This shows that people visiting the Mansfield are more shopaholic whereas that visiting the East Midlands museum are more interested in relaxing and having a nice time.

Q.9 Which of the following describe your reasons for visiting today?

	Mansfield Museum	East Midlands Custer Average
To spend time with friends/family	45%	41%
To learn something	28%	38%
To enjoy the atmosphere	17%	30%
To be intellectually stimulated	18%	27%
Visiting museum is an important part of who I am	11%	25%
To be entertained	25%	24%
To be inspired	21%	22%
To do something new/out of the ordinary	15%	20%
To entertain my children	44%	15%
To educate/stimulate my children	23%	15%
To escape from everyday life	7%	13%
For reflection	6%	12%
For peace	5%	12%
For a special occasion	8%	7%
For academic reasons	6%	7%
For professional reasons	3%	5%
Others	13%	10%

Your motivation for visiting today

This is the most important question of the questionnaire. This is because this will help us identify the core reason that makes people visit a museum. After analyzing and evaluating the various reasons, it can be seen by the researcher that the main reason when it comes to visiting the Mansfield Museum is to spend time with friends and family along with entertaining the children with 45% and 44% respectively. This shows that it is a great place where people can enjoy family time. Also, it has a lot of scopes which can be helpful for the children. The reason on the other hand when it comes to visiting the East Midlands Cluster average is to spend time with friends and family along with self-learning. This shows that people consider museum to be a great place for family visits. This can be highlighted and improved to encourage more and more people to be part of the same.

Q.10 if you are visiting Mansfield Museum for the day or overnight, did you plan your trip particularly to go to the museum?

	Mansfield Museum	East Midlands Custer Average
Yes	44%	34%
No	22%	27%
Not applicable, I live in the area	34%	39%

Did you plan your trip particularly to go to the museum?

Another reason that can help us identify the ways to engage more and more people to visit the museum is by knowing the reason for visiting one. From the data, the researcher can know that a lot of population has made the trip especially to visit the museum. This shows that they are genuinely interested in the same. People are more interested to visit the Mansfield Museum, whereas in case of the East Midlands Cluster average people live in that area and hence visit the same.

Q.10 (a) which of the following types of accommodation are you staying in and for how many nights?

	Mansfield Museum	East Midlands Custer Average
With friends or family	77%	48%
In paid accommodation	23%	54%
Others	0%	7%

Which of the following types of accommodation are you staying in?

From the above data, it is clear that people who visit the Mansfield museum tend to stay with their friends or family if they decide to stay overnight. But the case with the East Midlands Cluster average is quite different. People tend to stay in paid accommodations. This shows that the East Midlands trip can be a bit costly which may prevent people from visiting it.

Q.11 which of the following best describes your highest educational qualification?

	Mansfield Museum	East Midlands Custer Average
Degree & professional/vocational equivalents	24%	51%
Other Higher Education below degree level	11%	12%
Levels, vocational level 3 & equivalents	14%	11%
Trade Apprenticeships	4%	6%
GCSE/O Level grade A*-C (5 more), vocational level 2 & equivalents	13%	9%
GCSE/O Level grade (less than 5 A*-C, other qualifications at level 1 & below	12%	4%
Other qualifications: level unknown	10%	4%
No qualifications	13%	5%

Your highest educational qualification

Education plays a very important role in identifying ways to engage more and more visitors to visit the museum. This is because with people with an education can only understand the importance of history. This can be seen from the data collected. The majority of the respondents are people with a degree or a vocational equivalent to that. It means that you need to have some educational background to enjoy the showcases of the museum be it the Mansfield Museum or the East Midlands Cluster Average group one.

Q. 12 which of the following best describes your current occupational status?

	Mansfield Museum	East Midlands Custer Average
Employed: Full time	24%	51%
Employed: Part-time	11%	12%
Self-employed	14%	11%
Unemployed	4%	6%
Full-time student	13%	9%
Retired	12%	4%
Looking for home or family	10%	4%
Long term sick or disabled	13%	5%
Others	0%	1%

Occupational Status

From the response collected it is depicted that people with some job or work are people who have visited the museums in the past one year. It shows that people who are doing something with their life are the one who takes interest in the museum. The majority of the people visiting both the Mansfield Museum and the East Midlands Cluster Average are people from the full time employed category with 24% and 51% respectively. It means that job is an important criterion that makes people visit museums.

Q.13 to what extent would you agree or disagree with:

(a) Museum is welcoming for the whole community

	Mansfield Museum	East Midlands Custer Average
Strongly Agree	59%	54%
Agree	39%	41%
Neither agree nor disagree	1%	4%
Disagree	0%	0%
Strongly disagree	1%	1%

From the response received from the major population who participated in the questionnaire, it was received that majority of them feel that Mansfield Museum is a welcome when it comes to the community. It is open to all and treats everyone with goodness. The same is felt for the east Midlands Cluster average which shows people’s positive outlook towards these museums.

(b) Museum encourages participation in community life and events

	Mansfield Museum	East Midlands Custer Average
Strongly Agree	46%	34%
Agree	46%	42%
Neither agree nor disagree	7%	23%
Disagree	0%	0%
Strongly disagree	2%	1%

When asked whether museum encourages people to take part in the community area of Mansfield, it was strongly supported by the majority of the people. They believe that it helps in active participation when it comes to life and events. The same is felt when it comes to the East Midlands Cluster average where the people feel the same.

(c) Museum enhances the sense of community in the Mansfield area

	Mansfield Museum	East Midlands Custer Average
Strongly Agree	46%	34%
Agree	44%	43%
Neither agree nor disagree	9%	22%
Disagree	0%	0%
Strongly disagree	1%	1%

From the data received from the respondents regarding the questionnaire, it is strongly felt by the majority of the population that museums are very important as they enhance the feeling of community both in the case of Mansfield Museum and the East Midlands Cluster Group.

(d) Museum is good for Mansfield’s image

	Mansfield Museum	East Midlands Custer Average
Strongly Agree	63%	64%
Agree	34%	33%
Neither agree nor disagree	2%	3%
Disagree	0%	0%
Strongly disagree	1%	1%

From the response received from the population, it can be analysed that people think museums are very good when it comes to the image of the place. Be it the Mansfield Museum or the East Midlands Cluster Average, a population of 63% and 64% strongly believe in this notion.

5 Conclusion & Recommendations

5.1 Introduction

Conclusion and recommendation is the final part of the research process. It consists of the entire summary that one has developed over the course of the entire research process. The major conclusion and recommendations in this study are to engage more visitors when it comes to visiting the museum. This is important because people are losing interest in the fact of visiting museums. This is causing a lot of harm to the art and culture of the country. Also with the more and more usage of internet in daily life people have started finding museums and other places quite boring. This has become a very serious issue. To get a better understanding of the problem along with the reasons associated with it, a research was conducted (McCusker and Gunaydin, 2015). It was done to identify the core issues so that proper recommendations can be suggested for the same. The recommendations are mostly based on the response received from the various respondents regarding both Mansfield Museum and the East Midlands Cluster Average.

5.2 Achievements of objectives

The main aim of undertaking this study was to achieve the objectives. The major ones are

To understand the reasons people do not want to visit the Museums

From the general viewpoint of the public and the data received, it is quite clear that people do not like to visit museums so much. The architect and the building along with the same repetitive information bore people and restrict them from visiting it. Also, when there is not much to do in areas nearby to that of a museum. This makes people go only to the museum which does not make it opt for family time. The location and time duration that one has to endure to visit a museum is also quite long many times which makes people think over them again (McMillan and Schumacher, 2014). This along with the various costs involved with it is another reason that people do not visit the museums so much.

To understand the reasons people are visiting the Mansfield Museum

The best part of the research was that it helped in clarifying the ways that motivate and encourages people to visit museums. The main reason that one could come up with after analysing and evaluating the response received is that people consider it to be a great place when it comes to spending time with friends and family. People tend to go with a huge group and enjoy the feel of the museum, be it the Mansfield Museum or the East Midlands Cluster Average (Miller, 2017). People responding to the questionnaire have strongly answered saying that there main reason for visiting the museums is to spend quality time with their loved ones.

Another reason that motivates people to visit museums is to educate. This can be educating them or entertaining their children. The people visiting the Mansfield Museum answered that entertaining their children is important and thus it becomes a core reason or motivator for them when it comes to visiting the museum. It is seen as a great source of entertainment and captures the attention of the children for a long time. The same on the other hand for the East Midlands Cluster Group is the need to educate oneself. People themselves are very much interested in this area and want to gain as much knowledge as possible. This makes it a prime reason for them to visit the museum (Moro Sundjaja, 2015). There are a bunch of other reasons as well that motivates and encourages people to visit the museum. Some of them being are to educate children or to learn something or merely for entertainment.

5.3 Recommendations for the study

The points recommended would be very helpful for the various museums such as the Mansfield Museum or the East Midlands Cluster Average to identify the various ways through which they can engage more and more people to visit the museum.

Understanding the needs of the people

The museum may be not for everyone. Not everyone likes museums, but a lot can be done to make it entertaining for the people. A very important observation made by the researcher from the responses received is that one needs to understand the people and what they want. The major respondents were people who enjoyed museums as a place to entertain their kids or get educated. This can be used for the benefit of the museums. Efforts should be made to make the places good for families to spend time (Neuman, 2016). This will give them a very good experience and encourage them to visit the museum again and again.

Providing more and more information

The major issue with almost all the museums is that they just give an overview of the thing. There is no deeper understanding or knowledge providing means. This makes the visitor feel disappointed, and they may resort to the internet or some other way to gain the information. This breaks the link between the person and the museum. It is highly recommended to install as much information as possible when it comes to museums like the Mansfield Museum. This will capture the interest of the people visiting them (Noble and Smith, 2015). This will also make them encourage visiting the other museums where they can find relevant or other related information.

Adding new value to the museum

A disadvantage with the museums is that if visited once they do not offer anything new to the person. This makes people visit it less than often. There is nothing new to offer or excite them. This is a major reason that does not like visiting them. A good solution to this can be by constantly adding value to the museums like that of the Mansfield Museum. Something new or exciting should be made part of the thing that encourages people to visit it. One such activity is being done by the Mansfield Museum. They are under refurbishment when it comes to one of their gallery (Norris.et.al.2015). This is done to attract more and more people and hold their interest.

Holding exhibitions

A great way to engage more and more people is by holding exhibitions and workshop related to the museums and its topic. One can do this by joining hands with other museums and hold across exhibition. This will help people get a glimpse of a lot of information at one place, and if this interests them, then they can personally visit that particular museum making it a win situation for all. This will also attract more and more people as it is not related to one particular aspect. This gives it more eyeballs (Pop and Borza, 2016). People from all spheres of life should be kept in mind so that one can enjoy some of the other part of the exhibition.

More attracting to the youth

A very strong point that came out of the result from the research study by the researcher is that the people currently visiting the museum are falling in the age group of 65 years or more. This means the majority of the current audience is old age people who already have some idea about the culture of the region. In the same study, it was seen that the percentage of people visiting the museum from age 15-24 years of age is very less. This is a serious matter of discussion. They are the future of the country. The main focus should be to make museums like the Mansfield Museum and the East Midlands Cluster Average entertaining for them. Artists and renowned exhibitioners can be brought on board that can attract youth (Scott, 2016). Activities that the youth find entertaining and fun should be in some way inculcate in the running of the museum. This can be helpful for the youth as well as for the museum.

Forming collaborations with schools and educational institutes

A museum is a great place for learning. In fact from the research, it can be concluded that a lot of people visits museums like the Mansfield Museum just to educate them. This makes it a great place for students. Museums can form the collaboration with various schools and educational institutes. They can provide special day and time allotted just for the students and even provide them with a personal session to get the in-depth information about the museum. Mansfield Museum organizes a lot of workshops for students and group visits that include activities like costumes, puppets, stories related to the topic displayed at the museum. A lot of topics can be discussed in detail so that students are all the more interested to visit the museum again with their parents. Also, the cost associated with it can be economical as the main aim of this to educate and encourage students to visit it (Sekaran and Bougie, 2016). A local connection can also be really helpful as a student can relate or associate with that in a better way which can hold their interest for a longer period.

Developing the area near the museums

A very important thing that can be seen from the result of the respondent is that people find museums as the only place to visit with nothing else to do. This makes many people especially family avoid it as not every one of them is so interested in it. Lack of other activities also restricts a lot of people from visiting them. A strong recommendation for it is that the authorities should try and develop the area near the museums like the Mansfield Museum. Activities like the theme park, or movies and restaurant, recreational activities, or some other form of art or creative can be effective. This will give people a lot more things to so when visiting the museum. This will also encourage people to come and visit the museum as and when they visit any of the other activity (Veal, 2017). This is a great way to hold the interest of the people along with the overall development of the region.

Promoting the special events

A lot of times it is seen that many people who want to visit the museum wait for some special event or occasion. This is because they are getting something extraordinary. But a lot of people miss out on this. This is because there is no proper information or details about the same. To rectify this, museums can promote these events in advance on their website along with their social platforms. This will not only help people in making their plans in advance but will also highlight the event among the people who don’t know much about it. This will give the museum more eyeballs (Wilsdon, 2015). It will also help the authorities of the museum know what are the things that the audience like so that the same can be promoted in the future.

These recommendations if applied in the right manner can be effective in engaging more and more visitors to visit the museum.

5.4 Future scope of study

From the research done on how to engage more visitors to visit the museum like the Mansfield Museum, the researcher has gained a lot of good and deep understanding of the topic. He has understood the core reason that restricts people from visiting a museum and also the factors that motivates them to visit it. Concerning the future scope of the study, it has a great scope as the same reasoning and recommendations can be applied to other museums in the region and helps them as well to attract more people.

References

Aydelotte, W.O., Fogel, R.W. and Bogue, A.G., 2015. The dimensions of quantitative research in history. Princeton University P

Ballard, T.L., 2017. A Case Study of the Springville Museum of Art Pre-Exhibition Workshop.

Bernard, H.R., 2017. Research methods in anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Rowman& Littlefield.

Bitgood, S., 2016.Attention and value: Keys to understanding museum visitors. Routledge.

Bodrov, J.A., and Loginov, M.P., 2015. Theoretical and managerial aspects of museum services.Management Issues/VoprosyUpravleniâ, (4).

Brannen, J. ed., 2017.Mixing methods: Qualitative and quantitative research.Routledge.

Bryman, A. and Bell, E., 2015. Business research methods. Oxford University Press, USA.

Bryman, A., 2015. Social research methods.Oxford university press.

Cope, D.G., 2014, January. Methods and meanings: credibility and trustworthiness of qualitative research. In Oncology nursing forum (Vol. 41, No. 1).

Creswell, J.W., and Creswell, J.D., 2017.Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach. Sage publications.

Davidson, L., 2015. Visitor Studies: Toward a Culture of Reflective Practice and Critical Museology for the Visitor‐Centered Museum. The International Handbooks of Museum Studies.

Drew, J.A., Moreau, C.S. and Stiassny, M.L., 2017. Digitization of museum collections holds the potential to enhance researcher diversity. Nature ecology & evolution, 1(12), p.1789.

Falk, J.H. and Dierking, L.D., 2016. The museum experience revisited. Routledge.

Falk, J.H., 2016. Identity and the museum visitor experience. Routledge.

Medulin, A., Krivosheeva, T. and Vapnyarskaya, O., 2015. Cultural and educational tourism market: museum technological solutions.

Flick, U., 2015.Introducing research methodology: A beginner’s guide to doing a research project.Sage.

Fortunato, A., 2015, August.The Improvement of the Museum Heritage and its Use as a Tourist Resource.In Toulon-Verona Conference” Excellence in Services.”

Hagan, T.L., 2014, July. Measurements in quantitative research: How to select and report on research instruments. In Oncology nursing forum (Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 431-433).

Harrison, R., Bartolini, N., DeSilvey, C., Holtorf, C., Lyons, A., Macdonald, S., May, S., Morgan, J. and Penrose, S., 2016. Heritage Futures.Archaeology International, 19.

Hassan, A., 2016. Visitor Accounts of the Museum of London Docklands.e-Review of Tourism Research (OTR). Augmented reality and destination promotion.

Hein, H.S., 2014. The museum in transition: A philosophical perspective. Smithsonian Institution.

Hoy, W.K. and Adams, C.M., 2015. Quantitative research in education: A primer. Sage Publications.

Komara, T., 2014.A new world for museum marketing?Facing the old dilemmas while challenging new market opportunities.Market-Tržište, 26(2).

Komara, T., Došen, Đ.O.And Škare, V., 2014, January. Museum marketing and virtual museums in the 21st century: Can museums survive without it?. In 5th EMAC Regional Conference-Marketing Theory Challenges in Emerging Markets.

Larson‐Hall, J. and Plonsky, L., 2015. Reporting and interpreting quantitative research findings: What gets reported and recommendations for the field. Language Learning, 65(S1), pp.127-159.

Leahy, H.R., 2016. Museum bodies: the politics and practices of visiting and viewing. Routledge.

Lord, B. and Piacente, M. eds., 2014. Manual of museum exhibitions.Rowman& Littlefield.

Lu, C.W., 2017. The Implementation of Digital Marketing Tools in National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts.

Mackey, A. and Gass, S.M., 2015. Second language research: Methodology and design. Routledge.

Maisel, S., 2016. 3 Why not go to the museum today?.Museums in Arabia: Transnational Practices and Regional Processes, p.53.

Martin, A.J., Durksen, T.L., Williamson, D., Kiss, J. and Ginns, P., 2016. The role of a museum‐based science education program in promoting content knowledge and science motivation.Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 53(9), pp.1364-1384.

McCusker, K. and Gunaydin, S., 2015. Research using qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods and choice based on the research. Perfusion, 30(7), pp.537-542.

McMillan, J.H., and Schumacher, S., 2014.Research in education: Evidence-based inquiry. Pearson Higher Ed.

Miller, C., 2017. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH IN. Muddy Boots and Smart Suits: Researching Asia-Pacific Affairs, p.73.

Moro Sundjaja, A., 2015. Adoption of social media for marketing and education tools at museum industry. Advanced Science Letters, 21(4), pp.1028-1030.

Neuman, W.L., 2016. Understanding research. Pearson.

Noble, H. and Smith, J., 2015.Issues of validity and reliability in qualitative research.Evidence-Based Nursing, pp.ebnurs-2015.

Norris, J.M., Plonsky, L., Ross, S.J. and Schoonen, R., 2015. Guidelines for reporting quantitative methods and results in primary research.Language Learning, 65(2), pp.470-476.

Pop, I.L., and Borza, A., 2016. Factors Influencing Museum Sustainability and Indicators for Museum Sustainability Measurement.Sustainability, 8(1), p.101.

Scott, C.A. ed., 2016.Museums and public value: creating sustainable futures. Routledge.

Sekaran, U., and Bougie, R., 2016. Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John Wiley & Sons.

Veal, A.J., 2017.Research methods for leisure and tourism. Pearson UK.

Wilson, J., 2015. We need a measured approach to metrics: quantitative indicators of research output can inform decisions but must be supported by robust analysis. Nature, 523(7559), pp.129-130.